Posted in: TV | Tagged: Asif Kapadia, Up

Landmark ITV Documentary Series "Up" Set to End with 70 Up

The long-running, landmark British documentary series Up is coming to an end with 70 Up, which will air on ITV screens later this year.

Published Thu, 23 Apr 2026 10:07:08 -0500

by Gavin Sheehan

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Article Summary

ITV’s landmark documentary series Up will conclude with 70 Up, ending a groundbreaking television project after 60 years.
Beginning with Seven Up in 1964, the Up series revisited 14 children every seven years to track life and class in Britain.
Michael Apted led Up through 63 Up, with Asif Kapadia now directing the final chapter inspired by the iconic series.
70 Up brings back Charles Furneaux and closes the story as the remaining participants reach age 70 later in 2026.

One of the longest-running documentary series in British television is coming to an end: the Up series will conclude at 70. If you're not entirely familiar with this, it's one of the boldest concepts in television ever made, as the series started in 1964, called Seven Up, where original director Paul Almond followed the lives of ten boys and four girls, filming what their day-to-day lives were like at age 7 for a series of nine made-for-TV films. The series has continued over the years, with check-ins every seven years, as the next was called 7 Plus Seven, then 21 Up!, and so on.

Asif Kapadia To Bring ITV Documentary Series "Up!" To An End — Image Provided Courtesy of ITV

From Elementary To Old Age: Up! Will End at 70 Up

Originally, the concept was meant to be a one-off, described as a "snapshot" of the British class system, showing how people's lives were changed and measured by who they were and where they happened to be born. After the first series aired, the series was brought back to follow up with the kids, helmed by director Michael Apted until 63 Up in 2019. Apted passed away in 2021, and eventually the series was passed on to Asif Kapadia (Senna, Amy, Diego Maradona), who has cited the show as an inspiration for his own documentaries.

But it looks like this run will be the final one, and with good reason, as the title alone, 70 Up, kinda puts the entire venture into focus, as everyone who is still on the show will be 70 years old when it airs. The show has already lost two of its original cast members: Lynn Johnson passed away in 2013, and Nicholas Hitchon passed away in 2023. This last series will also see the return of Charles Furneaux, who had a falling out with Apted before the filming of 28 Up, refused to participate over the years, and pushed to have his footage removed from all of the series, until now, as this will be his last appearance.

Given the passage of time and the reality of human mortality, it seems fitting to end it at 70, with 10 series spanning over 60 years. No dates have been announced yet for the final run, other than that we know it will happen sometime before the end of 2026 on ITV.

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